KABUL: Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers said on Friday they were willing to negotiate after Pakistan bombed their forces in major cities and said the allies-turned-foes were in “open war.”
Pakistan struck the Afghan capital Kabul, the city of Kandahar, where Taliban leaders are based, and other towns, a Taliban spokesman said. The attacks were its first directly targeting Afghanistan’s government over allegations it harbours militants seeking to overthrow the Islamabad government.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said there were civilian casualties on Friday but did not provide details.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has always tried to resolve issues through dialogue, and now also we want to resolve this matter through dialogue,” Mujahid said.
Mujahid said Pakistani strikes hit parts of Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia on Thursday night, and on Paktia, Paktika, Khost and Laghman on Friday, following Afghan drone strikes on Pakistani military positions along their shared border.
Pakistan authorities said about 300 Afghan Taliban personnel and allied terrorist groups have been killed in ongoing operations, with over 450 injured.
Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar said Pakistan destroyed 89 Taliban posts, captured 18 others, and eliminated around 135 tanks and armored vehicles. The air force effectively targeted 29 locations across Afghanistan.
The strikes were part of a massive retaliatory operation, code-named Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, launched after Afghan forces attacked 53 sites along the 2,600-km border.
Army spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry warned the Taliban to choose between supporting terrorist organisations—including Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, Baloch Liberation Army, Daesh, and Al Qaeda—or siding with Pakistan. “Our choice is absolutely clear. It will always be Pakistan over everything,” he said.
The strikes raised fears of a prolonged conflict along the border. Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif warned, “Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you (Afghanistan).”
Pakistan’s foreign ministry warned that any new Taliban provocations, or attempts by any “terrorist group” to target Pakistanis, would be met with a “measured, decisive and befitting response”.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “deeply concerned by the escalation of violence” between Afghanistan and Pakistan and the impact that is having on civilian populations, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
“He calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, and he reiterates his call on the parties to resolve any differences through diplomacy,” Dujarric said.
The United States on Friday expressed support for Pakistan. “The United States supports Pakistan’s right to defend itself against attacks from the Taliban, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group,” a State Department spokesperson said.
“The Taliban have consistently failed to uphold their counterterrorism commitments, allowing violence to destabilize the region while terrorist groups use Afghanistan as a launching pad for their heinous attacks.”
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Saturday called for the countries to de-escalate and engage in dialogue. “The EU reiterates that Afghan territory must not be used to threaten or attack other countries and calls on the Afghan de facto authorities to take effective action against all terrorist groups operating in or from Afghanistan,” Kallas said in a statement.
Efforts for de-escalation were also going on as regional countries made diplomatic efforts to end the bad blood between the two neighbours.
Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi offered to mediate on X. “The Islamic Republic of Iran stands ready to provide any assistance necessary to facilitate dialogue and to enhance understanding and cooperation between the two countries,” Araghchi said.
Official sources said that Saudi Arabia and Qatar were doing their parts to bring peace. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan talked to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar as well as Afghan acting FM Amir Muttaqi.
Turkiye was also in touch with both sides and was making efforts to end the hostilities.
Qatar, which helped stop fighting between the two countries last year, is working with other nations to help resolve the latest crisis, Afghanistan said.
“Afghanistan has never been a supporter of violence and has always preferred to resolve issues based on mutual understanding and respect,” Muttaqi told Khulaifi in their call, the statement said.
Pakistan has long accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing the TTP and other terrorist groups to use their soil for residence, training and logistics to carry out attacks against Pakistan. The Afghan side rejects the allegations and asks Pakistan to put its own house in order by holding talks with the militants.